Edinburgh Pentlands CON Gain

Scottish Parliament election

constituency

	Edinburgh Pentlands	CON Gain

	CANDIDATE	PARTY	VOTES	%	+/-%
	David McLetchie	CON	12420	37.2	+8.3
	Iain Gray	LAB	10309	30.9	-5.3
	Ian McKee	SNP	5620	16.8	-5.3
	Simon Clark	LD	3943	11.8	-0.9
	Frank O'Donnell	SSP	1090	3.3	+3.3
		MAJORITY	2111	6.3
		TURNOUT	33382	57

ELECTORATE	58534

Top-up region: Lothian

DESCRIPTION: Edinburgh Pentlands

Taking in some affluent suburbs and picturesque countryside south-west of Edinburgh, Pentlands was the safest Tory seat in the Lothian region until 1997. This is a socially-diverse seat, though the majority of inhabitants are well-off and many are engaged in well-paid non-manual jobs. The Wester Hailes council estate is situated here; though much of it was restructured in the 1980s, it still houses many people in less than salubrious surroundings. Malcolm Rifkind was first elected Conservative MP for Pentlands in February 1974. He managed to hold onto it until 1997 despite never winning a majority of more than 4,309 votes. He lost to Labour's Lynda Clarke in the 1997 election which saw the Tory wipe-out in Scotland.

Iain Gray, now enterprise minister, won the Holyrood seat in 1999. Sir Malcolm failed to win Pentlands back at the 2001 election. However, this seat remains a marginal and Tory Scottish leader David McLetchie only needs a 4% swing to take it.

PREVIOUS RESULTS

	1999 SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT ELECTION		LAB WIN
	PARTY	VOTES	%
	LAB	14343	36.2
	CON	11458	28.9
	SNP	8770	22.1
	LD	5029	12.7

	2001 GENERAL ELECTION		LAB WIN
	PARTY	VOTES	%
	LAB	15797	40.6
	CON	14055	36.1
	LD	4210	10.8
	SNP	4210	10.8
	SSP	555	1.4
	UKIP	105	0.3